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Synonym Chooser

How is the word avid distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of avid are anxious, athirst, eager, and keen. While all these words mean "moved by a strong and urgent desire or interest," avid adds to eager the implication of insatiability or greed.

avid for new thrills

When might anxious be a better fit than avid?

Although the words anxious and avid have much in common, anxious emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment.

anxious not to make a social blunder

Where would athirst be a reasonable alternative to avid?

The meanings of athirst and avid largely overlap; however, athirst stresses yearning but not necessarily readiness for action.

athirst for adventure

When could eager be used to replace avid?

While in some cases nearly identical to avid, eager implies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or restraint.

eager to get started

When is it sensible to use keen instead of avid?

The synonyms keen and avid are sometimes interchangeable, but keen suggests intensity of interest and quick responsiveness in action.

keen on the latest fashions

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of avid Michael Meredith, an avid duck hunter, will teach basic calling techniques. Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2025 But avid readers say the concept of reading for social points is a very real phenomenon that has unwittingly influenced how people approach books. Angela Yang, NBC news, 14 Oct. 2025 Here's what avid travelers should know about the origin and meaning of hotel star ratings. Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 14 Oct. 2025 At 23 years old, the beauty and fashion influencer is a role model for Gen Z, not to mention an avid user of both Dolce Glow and Sunnee Bae. Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for avid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avid
Adjective
  • Curry also remembered the future president being very eager for his then-girlfriend, Marla Maples, to be introduced to the film's director, Chris Columbus.
    Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Showgirl was introduced as an album that gives fans a look behind the Eras Tour curtain, so attendees of that tour were eager to not just relive the magic but learn more about Taylor’s thought processes during such a whirlwind time of her career.
    Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Listen to him bum-rush a workers’ union meeting and begin describing, with over-enthusiastic earnestness, how dogs get a raw deal.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Now, a couple of posts can result in an influx of enthusiastic participants for rookie organizers who lack the structure to host them.
    Cate Charron, IndyStar, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Polaha plays Dick Hall, the president of Meridian Mortgage who is taken hostage by Tony Kiritsis (Ribisi), who publicly accuses him on being a greedy and cutthroat monster.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Left-wing antisemitism, which cast Jews as greedy capitalists, existed as well, especially in France, but Jew-baiting remained primarily a right-wing pursuit, the work of illiberal nativists who saw a tiny minority as polluting the purity of their racial or religious communities.
    Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Both backs seemed excited about employing more pony looks.
    Joseph Person, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • He could also be seen nodding his approval after the dance — and earning a thunderous round of excited shouts from the audience.
    Stephanie Wenger, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • That sounds a lot like Cassian Andor, the mercenary orphan turned galactic hero at the heart of two seasons of Andor on Disney+.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Oct. 2025
  • Black and his co-writers soften the cold mercenary side of Parker by giving him something of a moral compass, which prompts him to toss $10,000 to the stranger’s wife before fleeing the scene.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Word of mouth recommendations are eBay’s biggest source of new business, so Iannone puts a premium on engaging the site’s most ardent users.
    Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Indeed, the occupation undermined loyalty to Great Britain even among its most ardent supporters.
    Time, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • But is better than the alternative of admitting to an avaricious Moscow that Ukraine must accept some kind of defeat.
    Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Manipulating these obviously very greedy and avaricious [people] is still kind of beneath his skills.
    Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Putin is keen to reboot relations with Damascus to maintain his country’s military bases in Syria, analysts said.
    Ben Smith, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025
  • The 28-year-old has returned to individual training after his ankle procedure, but Frank is keen not to rush the England international back to action.
    Elias Burke, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Avid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avid. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

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